All the winners are allied to WCISA member companies as interns or employees, or as relatives of employees. The awards will be used towards education expenses. This year the WCISA has also awarded special scholarships, notably $3,000 each to the IWCS wire and cable Industry student scholarship funds at the Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute and Georgia Tech University.

Both awards will help research into copper and aluminium wiring, polymer coatings, optical fibres and fibre optic cables.

WCISA offers three types of scholarships – to high school graduates who have a parent or grandparent working at a WCISA member company; to employees and interns at WCISA member-companies, and the special scholarships, awarded case by case.